Eggnog Caramel Sauce

The other day I was making caramels. Well, I thought I was making caramels. I have this recipe for amazing, chewy caramels that I’ve made for years and decided to try and switch things up and make them EGGNOG caramels. As the buttery, sugary mixture boiled and did its thing, I thought to myself, “Yeah…these are going to be awesome.” The scent of eggnog and caramelized sugar smelled divine and I could not wait to sink my teeth into one of these babies.

Imagine my shock the next day when I went to check on the caramels and ummm, they weren’t quite as firm as they should be. As a matter of fact, the weren’t firm AT ALL. Bummer. But then I had a thought! Eggnog Caramel Sauce?! Heck yes! What I thought was a disaster actually turned out to be the most wonderful, delicious thing ever! We warmed our sauce in the microwave for about 10 seconds and drizzled it over vanilla ice cream and our taste buds were immediately transported to total nirvana. To be honest, I rarely have mistakes that actually turn out for the better and this was totally an exception. The flavors of caramel and eggnog in this sauce are just incredible. Perfect for gift giving. Or just keep it all to yourself. Like we’re doing. Hah.

Bring sugar, butter, dark corn syrup and light corn syrup to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes without stirring. Stir in eggnog, turn heat to medium and bring to boil. Cook, stirring constantly, 10 minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 245 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and nutmeg and pour into a bowl to cool. Once cooled, pour into jars and store in the refrigerator.